by Bel Austin

When Karyn Wood arrived here five years ago, she was immediately struck by Sheppey’s history.
Particularly intriguing to her were the Dockyard buildings, garrison and fortifications.
Having gathered reams of information she set up the Sheppey website and Kent History Forum.
For almost a year in between caring for a lively four-year-old and working as a volunteer at the Scope charity shop, she researched material for a booklet called Sheerness Defences.
The finished result offers bit-sized chunks of history covering the Dutch raid of 1667; the Nore Mutiny of 1797 and the Barton Point battery built in 1889 to defend the mouth of the Medway.
But rather than stringing a series of dull dates together, she tells of groups like the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) unifomed civilian volunteers who, in 1963, were trained by the Royal Navy to support naval officers in charge of port headquarters.
The RNXS had followed on from the Royal Minewatching Service formed in 1952 to spot, report and plot positions of mines laid by the enemy.
The 28-year-old’s enthusiasm for her subject comes through on each page and the publication will provide a ready reference for everyone interested in Sheppey’s past.
Copies at £6 are available here at the Times Guardian office and B. Fitch, newsagent, both in High Street, Sheerness.